Undercover or Under-the-Covers (4 of 5)
The Problem With Being Undercover: Supporting Missionaries.
Missionaries (including myself) need to be held accountable. Would you want to support a missionaries who doesn’t do missions? Of course not, so everyone who supports missions must think about what they consider “worthy of support.”
Missionaries that are undercover sometimes end up not doing basic ministry things. Read the short list below and ask yourself, would you support a missionary who: (for the missionary ask “would I support myself who…” and for a supporter ask “would I support a missionary who…”)
- Is not allowed to start churches. They can have small bible studies but make it evident that they are not a church.
- Is not doing church planting and/or their ministry plans are not connected to a local church or church planting effort.
- Can only witness to those they built relationships with and are deemed “safe.”
- Is not aloud to attend “underground” churches and therefore don’t know the condition of the churches, their doctrinal stance, and/or denomination but are encouraged to send their converts there. (Would you support a baptist missionary to build Charismatic churches? Would you work at converting one and then turning him over to wolves in sheep’s clothing?)
The list is short but you get the drift. Is someone worthy of your support and would I be worthy of taking someone’s support if I didn’t go to church, help plant a church, or boldly proclaim the Gospel?
(Note: These are just thoughts based on the topic of those working in creative access countries, not a complete list to consider for support, just things to make note of.)
Next Post: The Problem With Being Undercover: National Workers.
04.22.11
Undercover or Under-the-Covers (3 of 5)
The Problem With Being Undercover: Big Organizations.
There are many organizations that were created to bring the Gospel to China. Some organizations were already in place and expanded their efforts to include China. The problem with being undercover and being with a big organization is that many times they have rules in place to protect the organization, which in turns, slows down the spreading of the gospel. They ask their workers to comply with rules that go against the grain of boldness in order to “not get every one else in trouble.”
Here is a proposed downward spiral of undercover organizations:
It starts with a group of good hearted, passionate young people desiring to see God’s fame lifted high in a foreign and restricted land. They come together for this purpose and a vision is born. They realize the task before them is huge and know they must recruit others to join in their vision. Others are recruited and they create an organization that is in line with their vision. They start sending missionaries into these creative access countries.
Language studies and culture shock start to take toll on the organization’s missionaries even though they might not realize it. Their desire stays the same but their lack of training (only being “discipled” through the organizations basic lessons and buzz words) keeps them from making leaps and bounds in their vision.
As time passes, there always seems to be a “problem” in their area, so they move around to different parts of the country, not really digging into one spot. Their goal is to reach the country anyways, so this seems wise.
Fear starts to set in as they hear stories from other Christian workers in the country and realize for the safety of the organization they must put rules in place. They wouldn’t want their own “ministry” to be hindered because of the newest recruit being to bold nor would they want their own ministry to hinder others. “We have to be willing to look out for each other and protect the organization!” they start to think.
STOP HERE!
This is where the problem comes in, the focus and shift to what the missionaries are doing in the country is now being based on what is the best for the health of the organization in that country. The misconception of “it’s better to be here than sitting back home” is rallied around and soon becomes the underlying theme of the ministry. The Gospel is casually shared and there is some fruit but the reality of really reaching the country is filed in the “you can’t do that here” folder.
Now, all big organizations are not like this, but it is a downward spiral that we need to be aware of and watch out for when going “undercover.”
Next Post: The Problem With Being Undercover: Supporting Missionaries.
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Undercover or Under-the-Covers (2 of 5)
The Problem With Being Undercover: Personal Ministry.
Your personal ministry can be greatly affected by how you choose to react to the situation of your country. Here are a few thoughts to consider:
- Just the idea of going “undercover” causes thoughts of doubt and insecurity. This in turn can create a spirit of fear which effects you, your family, your ministry and those you lead.
- A person who is full of doubts and insecurity causes those around them to be eerie and suspicious (a.k.a. a weirdo).
- Be careful because for the sake of keeping your current form of being “undercover” you can choose not to do the important things and it makes your ultimate purpose void.
- How can you shine your light bright always trying to cover it up?
- What are you ultimately afraid of? You don’t want to get beat? Put in jail? Thrown out of the country? Who does? But what have you been called to? How have you been called to complete this job? What are Bible examples?
- When considering the “how” in gaining access to creative access countries, don’t base your decisions on second-hand-stories, seek out the first-hand-stories, information that can be verified and relevant to your decision making.
Next Post: The Problem With Being Undercover: Big Organizations.
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Undercover or Under-the-Covers (1 of 5)
The Problem With Being Undercover: Introduction.
Since we are working in a creative access country there are a few topics that seem to constantly be on our minds. We think about these things because they are an everyday reality for us. Fear, being undercover, boldness, they are things that we are constantly wrestling over as we seek to make an impact in China. The thoughts in this series are from some notes and observations that I wrote down awhile back. I am just now getting around to developing them into something that is readable.
Creative access countries are those countries that do not give out visas for missionaries and are intolerant of proselytizing. Therefore, a missionary must enter that country through a different means than that of a missionary visa. He is “undercover.”
The theme in the following post have to do with the problems in being undercover. Though this process is necessary for many missionaries to be able to enter different countries there are many bad side effects that come with it. Missionaries should have some basic accountability to encourage him to keep boldly living out the gospel. It is easily to fall into the trap of living the undercover life and our Christians witness is therefore not obvious to those around us. Here is a simple illustration:
My daughter and I play a game called “ tent time.” It basically consist of us running in our bed, grabbing the covers and throwing them over our heads. We hold the covers up with our hands or feet which creates a tent. We are now “under-the-covers.” Nobody can see us and we can’t see anyone else, so we feel safe. My daughter thinks we are safe from the monsters. Now where this comes into an illustration is that if my wife wanted to find us, she wouldn’t have that hard of a time. She could walk into the room and it would be very obvious that we are hiding in our makeshift tent, under-the-covers. Our ministries should have such an impact that it is obvious what we are really there for even though we are “undercover.”
As missionaries we must used different means to get a visa but we should never be lost in that process. It should be very evident to those around us that we are just “under-the-covers” and not lost in our “undercoverness”.
We are the salt of the earth! We are the light of the word! Don’t let your candle be hid under the the bushel of being undercover but boldly placed on a candlestick to give light to all those around you. Light it obvious when it penetrates darkness.
Our Christian witness in creative access countries should be obvious and intentional. This doesn’t mean that we are preaching through a blow horn on the street, giving a prayer card to the local police station, or tract bombing the closest village. But it does mean that we should have a bold plan in place and accountability to accomplish it.
The next four post will consider this problem in the following areas: Personal Ministry, Big Organizations, Supporting Missionaries, and National Workers.
Next Post: The Problem With Being Undercover: Personal Ministry.
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“We’re missionaries, it’s an occupational hazard.” (3 of 4)
Stories & Rumors of Stories
Through out our short time here in China, we realize that a lot of what happens is interpreted and seen through the lens of “our purpose for being here.” We hear many stories of things taking place and we live many of the stories. But what do you do when things like this happen:
- Police want to meet up with you or your friends for unknown reasons.
- Your name and church was supposedly turned over to the cops by someone mad at you or acquaintances.
- Hear stories of persecution in your country taking place in other parts of the country.
- Others spread fear to you and your wife.
- People reject your invitation to church.
- You offer a policeman a Bible and he rejects it.
- Stories of “suspicion” start to fly around.
- Cops seem to be on the street more, you see them more often around your place.
- There is a reported “crackdown” for house churches in the internet news.
- A policeman looks through your Pastor training resources.
What should you do? Stop? Move Locations? “Take a Break”? Leave the Country?
Well everyone man will have his own answer depending on the severity of the situation, but for the most part many should just keep on doing what you have always done. We have learned this from our team and time here. We didn’t try any crazy stunts because we though our time is short, nor did we run into hiding and drop everything. Stories and rumor of stories are going to be a constant way of life for us, so our reaction to them needs to be fairly consistent. We can’t run at every hint of persecution nor can we stand on the street corner with a bullhorn preaching our (supposedly) final words. We have to trust the Lord and not stop. The stories and things that have happened, for the most part, just pass on by and there is no effect on our end. The preaching of the gospel should never stop when persecution starts but should be proclaimed in spite of the end result.
Next Post: Part 4 – Questions to Ask
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“We’re missionaries, it’s an occupational hazard.” (2 of 4)
Fearful Thoughts About Coming to China Continued…
When people are constantly telling you things like this, it begins to cause fear to set in. When your life is going to be under complete surveillance, it cause your to act different. Especially when the next thing happens:
A guy calls my sending church and spoke with my pastor about me. He claimed that he worked in Washington DC for the government. He knew through some special intelligence that the Chinese Government was downloading information from google and they would have all my information because of my website. This would prevent me from going to China etc. Of course, he wouldn’t give all of his details, since the information he was sharing, he wasn’t suppose to be sharing. Weird!
Another story I remember from deputation went like this: I was at a church and a man started to share some top secret information with me. He was nervously looking around the room to make sure no one else could hear him as he whispered to me about a ministry that was located in China. He wasn’t suppose to tell anyone but thought the information might help me. He was obviously very nervous about the information and how top secret it was. The fear factor was taking over and he wasn’t going to or even apart of the ministry in China.
There are so many other stories and things that have happened. But we are in China now, learning the language, and seeing God do great things. The stories haven’t stopped (though almost all of what we were told can be easily debunked). People are still saying many of the same things and even more so. People are still talking to us in code over the phone, email and in person. Some act as if you should take extreme caution in who you witness to and invite to church. But for us things have been different. We have been able to work with a team who wants to see God do great things and who are boldly living out the Gospel. We have been less fearful since coming to China, but we still have to keep a handle on fear and not let it creep into our lives. I read this quote the other day on twitter which said:
“Boldness isn’t about being comfortable with what’s outside of me, but being propelled by the grace and power of the One who lives inside me.” via @PaulTripp
Hearing all these stories and everything people told us didn’t cause us to be comfortable but very uncomfortable. But we can keep going forward because of being propelled by the grace and power of Jesus who lives inside us!
The same day I read this quote from the World Evangelism Quote of the Day by Hudson Taylor:
“China is not to be won for Christ by quiet, ease-loving men and women. The stamp of men and women we need is such as will put Jesus, China, [and] souls first and foremost in everything and at every time–even life itself must be secondary.“
At the end of the day, we are missionaries serving in communist China. We didn’t sign up for an easy job. Persecution is something that we might have to face one day, but we aren’t going to live in fear to avoid it… “We’re missionaries, it’s an occupational hazard.”
Next Post: Part 3 – Stories & Rumors of Stories
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“We’re missionaries, it’s an occupational hazard.” (1 of 4)
Fearful Thoughts About Coming to China
Before coming to China, we heard a lot about what life should be like in China. We were in Churches that never heard of a missionary to China to churches that supported several missionaries to China. We met people who had friends or family living in China and people who had just read stories on the internet about China. We also met people who had served and lived in China themselves. Everyone’s experience relating to China and how they viewed the current situation varied, therefore we received encouraging and yet not so encouraging news about our future plans to move to this country.
One of the encouraging times was when a previous missionaries to China took me out to dinner and shared his story with me. He shared of his struggles and how God brought them through. He shared of the victories of how He was used of God to lead several to Christ. He then offered a helping hand through prayer with understanding of what we were about to enter in the months ahead. They were really a blessing to me. But not everyone was like that!
A lot of the time when people spoke to us about China it would cause fear to come knocking on the door. It was a battle I had to learn to deal with over the next several months (I am thankful for a pastor and mentor who helped me keep the right focus).
I first met opposition when I called pastors to book meetings. Some pastor’s would tell me crazy stories they heard about China. They seemed to”know” about China and unwilling to learn about China. Here are some of the oppositions:
- A pastor told me I couldn’t do what I was claiming, he even called to ask friends, he wasn’t comfortable having us in because of it.
- A pastor told me that I can’t…(be a church planter in China).
- A pastor told me they can’t support a missionary to China because it is against the government and you have to lie to get into the country.
- A pastor told me that I was too open on the internet and there was no way the government would let me into the country once I got to the border.
But it wasn’t just from pastor’s over the phone. It came from many other people, people we met in person, over email, on facebook, or random phone calls. They would tell us:
- Don’t be open on the internet, use facebok, or anything like that.
- Make sure your name doesn’t show up in google, especially with anything religious or about China.
- Don’t use skype in China because they screen your calls and know what your saying.
- Don’t download anything on Chinese servers because they all include spyware.
- Your telephones are tapped in China so you have to be careful what you say.
- Speak in code words, don’t openly talk about the ministry.
- People follow you around and will constantly be watching you.
- Be careful what you write in emails because they are scanned by the government.
When people are constantly telling you things like this, it begins to cause fear to set in. When your life is going to be under complete surveillance, it causes you to act and think differently. Especially when the next thing happens…
Next Post: Part 2 - Fearful Thoughts About Coming to China Continued…
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Wesley on Persecution
I found this quote interesting. When preaching on persecution Wesley said:
“Yet think not that you can always avoid it, either by this or any other means. If ever that idle imagination steals into your heart, put it to flight by that earnest caution, “Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” “Be ye wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” But will this screen you from persecution? Not unless you have more wisdom than your Master, or more innocence than the Lamb of God.
Neither desire to avoid it, to escape it wholly; for if you do, you are none of his. If you escape the persecution, you escape the blessing; the blessing of those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. If you are not persecuted for righteousness’ sake, you cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. “If we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him. But if we deny him, he will also deny us.
Nay, rather, “rejoice and be exceeding glad,” when men persecute you for his sake; when they persecute you by reviling you, and by “saying all manner of evil against you falsely;” which they will not fail to mix with every kind of persecution: They must blacken you to excuse themselves: “For so persecuted they the Prophets which were before you!” — those who were most eminently holy in heart and life; yea, and all the righteous which ever have been from the beginning of the world. Rejoice, because by his mark also ye know unto whom ye belong. And, because great is your reward in heaven,” — the reward purchased by the blood of the covenant, and freely bestowed in proportion to your sufferings, as well as to your holiness of heart and life. Be exceeding glad;” knowing that “these light afflictions, which are but for a moment, work out for you a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”
Wesley, J. (1999). Sermons, on several occasions. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. {Bolding for Emphasis Added by me}
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Sunday’s Report
“Ten new kids” is what the missionary and the church asked everyone to pray for. Would ten new kids come after the festival and the many hours of work and prayer? The right processes were put into play and all we could do is leave the product in the Lord’s hands.
As Sunday school started there were about 6 news kids that had come and even some of their parents too! Then as Sunday school was well under way a group of 4 more kids came in the church. The children’s classes are in another building, so I walked them over to the other building. As I was walking back, I saw a lady walking with 4 kids behind her. It seemed kind of weird to me so I kept glancing back and then they all started waving to me. (I guess it was obvious who I was since I was a white guy in a suite.) They were all wanting to come to church, as well, so I showed them to the children’s class.
All-in-all the Church’s attendance was up by about 30 compared to the past two weeks! The church had over 10 new kids and a lot of new moms, dads, and grandparents. The Gospel was preached! Amen!
Pray for our progress in the language so that we can be more of a help and be more involved in this exciting work. Watching all God is doing is exciting but I want to be in there fully sharing the Gospel as well (in Chinese)!
Another note is that over the past three weeks the offerings have been good! People are really giving and it is exciting to watch them take on this responsibly and give with a cheerful heart!
Thanks for praying!
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Kid’s Festival
We had another awesome weekend. With the help of a short term missions group that is here the church put on a Kid’s Festival. It was very similar to a “Fall Festival” in the states. I had little involvement, due to language studies, but I was able to help pass out flyers the night before and help the day of the festival. Here is what took place:
- Games & Activities: The group came up with several different games and activities that were inexpensive yet fun! This included face painting, a fishing game, nock-down-the-bottles game, jewelry making, and many more. They we super creative with the games and the children enjoyed all of them.
- Prizes: All of the kids were given a bag which included a flyer and business card with information about the church. They used this bag to collected the candy they received from each station for participating. They could even win a gold fish!
- Location: The festival was held in the middle of the plaza of the housing estate where the church is located. So when we told people about the church or they asked, we could simply point to our location.
- Invitations: They did a great job getting the flyers out before the event. The flyers included the information on one side and a paper-cut-out-craft-thingy on the other side. They passed them out in public, in front of the school as the kids were being released and in the housing estates. The night before we took the rest of the flyers and put them on the front of the main-entrance-doors of the apartment buildings.
- Play: In the middle of the event the group put on a play as it was narrated in Chinese. Everyone crowded around and seemed to enjoy it.
We had no idea what was going to happen. Would anyone come? Would we get in trouble? As we had these thoughts in the back of our mind we moved forward and the Lord gave us a beautiful day on Saturday. The sun was shining bright the weather though chilly was starting to warm. The team met early at the church to start preparations and setting everything up. The people started coming, and more came, and before we knew it, we had a huge crowd being involved and interacting with the group and church members. Over 150 came out that day! Wow! Many asked about the church and all the children received invitations in their bag.
At the end of the event, everyone had a great spirit and started to clean up. But it wasn’t over. We moved the games inside the daycare where we have the church. After lunch, we put on a smaller version of the festival for the children who attend there. Many of them have some sort of disability.
This was a great day and outreach for the church, it seemed, but would anyone come to church the next day because of it? The neighborhood definitely knows we are here!
Find out what happened in the Next Post: Sunday’s Report.
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